Whether for downhill skis or for large plywood, in some situations, vehicle owners desire to carry loads larger than the trunks or cargo space of their vehicles. Although vehicle owners could buy cars with larger trunks, or trucks with larger cargo space, many would rather simply convert their back seats into extra cargo space. Storable seat assemblies offer a solution to this problem by either holding passengers or carrying cargo.
Storable seat assemblies that are movable between an in-use position and a stored position have been used in automobiles for several decades. Although traditionally found in larger vehicles, like vans or sport-utility vehicles, many storable seats are recently being used in smaller vehicles, like sedans and coupes. By converting from one function to the other, the storable seat eliminates the need for larger trunks and cargo space. Without this need, vehicles can be made with shorter overall lengths and more fuel efficient shapes.
The conventional storable seat assemblies have, unfortunately, compromised both the comfort of the passengers with smaller seat backs and the capabilities of the cargo space with uneven surfaces. Recent efforts have attempted to address these compromises. U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,931 issued Nov. 5, 1996 to KARGILIS ET AL. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,707 issued Dec. 31, 1996 to BOLSWORTH ET AL. disclose a storable seat assembly that includes relatively taller seat backs and that form relatively flat, uniform surfaces. In their stored position, however, both of the KARGILIS and BOLSWORTH seat assemblies exhibit a long fold-forward distance. This distance approximately represents the greater length of the seat back. Because of this extended distance, the storable seat assembly must be placed at a longer distance from the front seats, forcing an increase of the interior dimensions of the vehicle. As can be easily appreciated, this increase in interior dimensions defeats the purpose of using a storable seat in a vehicle with shorter overall lengths and more fuel efficient shapes.